Rail leader: S.A.-Austin train service by 2023

Published 5:59 pm, Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The head of the Lone Star Rail District told Schertz Chamber of Commerce members Aug. 20 that a regional commuter rail service could be up and running within 10 years.

Joe Black, rail district director, told the monthly luncheon gathering at the Schertz Civic Center that a lot of work needs to be done before the proposed 118-mile passenger rail service between Georgetown and San Antonio is completed.

“The earliest we can see service is probably the six-year time frame,” Black said. “That's assuming everything goes perfect, which it won't because it's a huge project and the federal government is involved.

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“I think six years is kind of the lower (number) and anywhere up to 10 years before the full system is realized.”

Since federal funds are going towards the commuter rail project, the rail district must conduct an environmental study, which Black said could take three to four years to complete.

Once the study is completed, Black said it will take another two years for the design and construction phases of the project to be finished before rail service can start.

Black said the commuter rail line project will cost between $1.8 billion to $2 billion, which will be covered through a combination of local, state and federal funds, and possible public-private partnerships.

The project's price tag includes the construction of rail stations, rail cars, operations and maintenance facilities, and a bypass freight rail line the rail district will build east of Interstate 35, which will be turned over to Union Pacific Railroad.

So far the rail district has secured $60 million in funding for the project.

The proposed commuter rail line will serve passengers from San Antonio to Austin to Georgetown with 16 stations along the way, including one in Schertz along FM 3009, north of Interstate 35.

The new passenger rail will use existing tracks currently used by the railroad.

Black said it will cost $30.3 million a year to operate and maintain the commuter rail service, a price tag to be split among the member cities, counties and governmental entities that make up the district, including Schertz.

Once a regional commuter rail service is established, Black said it will help reduce traffic congestion on I-35 and provide better mobility, and bring economic benefits to the region.

“There's a lot of people coming (to this region),” Black noted. “The highways that are congested today, they aren't getting any better. In fact, they will be a little worse tomorrow.”

According to the rail district, the I-35 stretch between San Antonio and Austin is one of the deadliest and most congested stretches of roadway in the nation, with an average of 9,000 accidents and 100 deaths a year.

Black said a regional commuter rail service could remove 3 million to 5 million automobile trips per year from roadways along that stretch of highway.

With the relocation of the freight line east of I-35, Black said dozens of freight trains per day will be removed from urban areas ranging from Austin to San Antonio.

Black said commuter rail is expected to provide an economic boost to the region, increasing local tax revenues by $1.31 billion and personal incomes by $20.4 billion.

If put in the right location, Black predicted a rail station could create opportunities for economic development and investment.

“(A rail station) connects cities to each other and connects economic activity centers to each other,” he said.